Outcome Stories

“I think your truest self surfaces when you practice the discipline of giving,” First UMC Lubbock Rev. Dr. Craig Curry shared. “That self is transformed by what love has really done to us. God calls us together to accomplish his will on earth and our resources are his. As we give ourselves away, this new self blossoms, and we grow in our trust that God will replenish us.”

For leaders like Rev. Todd Salzwedel, Pastor of FUMC Odessa, his experience in TMF’s Entrepreneurial Pastors Group was transformative. “TMF is on the cutting edge of creating incubator groups for leadership development,” Todd noted. “Through this group, I have been given opportunities to be resourced for success and had the chance to network with other leaders who have helped me grow.”

Rev. Todd Salzwedel, Senior Pastor at FUMC Odessa, came to ministry via economics and fights. It is an unusual combination to say the least, but, for Todd, it was exactly the combination of experiences he needed to be a more effective pastor.

“My wife Kristie and I have developed a passion around supporting young clergy,” said Wesley Millican, explaining the drivers for the endowment he and his wife established at TMF to help pastors participate in TMF’s Leadership Ministry learning communities.

Laurinda Kwiatkowski, Outreach Pastor at University UMC in San Antonio, describes how Leadership Ministry learnings are profoundly impacting her ministry, the congregation she serves, and the young leaders she mentors.

Generosity can be spurred from the simplest moments, during a hand shake or a smile, in the aftermath of a light rain or in the beauty of a sunlit day. For Jan Baucum, that moment came during her childhood, growing up in a tiny farming community in West Texas.

Two feet of rain fell in the first 24 hours.
One third of Houston was underwater.
75 schools closed.
39,000 people were forced into shelters.
203,000 homes were damaged.
Harvey.
We know the name well. Most of us were glued to the news the entire time this hurricane was raging, and we held out hope our neighbors would be alright. It was difficult to imagine that amount of rain colliding with a city we loved in such a short period of time. For those who lived in Houston, it was still difficult to imagine.

When asked why he and his wife Jan made a gift to TMF’s Grants Ministry in support of Harvey relief and recovery, Charles King described a rough illustration: “Draw a vertical popsicle stick with God at the top and me at the bottom and a heart in the middle,” he instructed. “That’s where the relationship begins – as a willing receiver of God’s grace, acceptance, and love. Being willing to receive is a key first step.”

“Stewarding Potential” is about seizing every opportunity, through any point of contact, to help individuals, families, congregations and like-minded organizations to achieve their God-inspired potential.

TMF's Leadership Ministry is helping to create Congregational Cultures of Purpose and Generosity that connect Church leaders with the resources they need to discern their purpose and respond with acts of courage and generosity.